There is a wide variety of garments that are designed to provide comfort to people engaged in strenuous activities such as running and skiing. Various garment materials heat and cool the feet and reduce irritation to the feet while worn. These garments, however, do not completely prevent discomfort to the feet of the wearer as a result of repetitive external movement of the garments against the skin of the foot and lower leg.
For example, a common occurrence causing discomfort in snow skiing results when the skier is subjected to irritation or chafing of the skin around the lower leg inside of the ski boot. The higher the quality and the better the fit of the ski boot reduces the pressure applied to the specific locations of the foot or leg of the skier. This lessens the discomfort felt by the skier due to the direct pressure of the boot against the skin. No matter how high the quality of the boot, however, discomfort may result from the twisting motion of the boot as it causes the skier's sock to rub against the skin of the skier while skiing. This twisting motion, may be transferred to the sock that, in turn, rubs against the skier's lower leg and ankle, which may irritate the skier's skin. This problem still exists even when multiple socks are worn because the socks still translate the boot's twisting motion to the skin of the skier's leg, which may irritate the skier's skin.
Accordingly, a need has arisen for a low-friction insert that eliminates irritation to the skin of the foot, ankle, and lower leg of a person subjected to strenuous repetitive motion.